New play set to open in Darwin on Wedneday

Osamah Sami and Kyle Walmsley star in Mary Anne Butler's new play
The Sound of Waiting. PICTURE: Glenn CampbellSource:News Limited

MARY Anne Butler’s new play, The Sound of Waiting, was inspired by an infamous quote by Tony Abbott about asylum seekers.

When Abbott said: “Jesus knew that there was a place for everything and it’s not necessarily everyone’s place to come to Australia” it made Butler furious.

“It made me really angry that a politician would justify their policies according to their personal religion,” she said.

“It made me angrier and angrier that I was living in a world that seemed to lack empathy. I felt I didn’t have power but there was one thing I can do, the only thing I can do — write about it.”

The Knock-em-Down Theatre production opens Wednesday night and features award-winning actor and writer Osamah Sami.

“We approached his agents who said he was unavailable, but I’ve got a friend who sent me his personal email,” Butler said. “I got in touch and when the email came back it said ‘I’ve read the first 10 pages and I’m in.”

Sami, an Iraqi refugee, said it was the authentic and honest writing that compelled him to take on the role, despite his busy schedule.

“The story resonated with me and a lot of the stories of some of my family members and friends who have come to Australia by boat,” he said.

“It was the authenticity of the characters — it didn’t feel like a writer had jumped on Googled and typed ‘refugees’.”